1 Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country [Ur], from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.” Genesis 12:1

And God called Abram.

He was living the good life in the land of Ur — never dreaming of doing a re-lo. Ur wasn’t any little old city. It was the center of commercial trade and political power, home to the temple of the moon god, and the largest city of the province of Shinar. But, Ur wasn’t big enough for what God had planned for Abram. Life in Ur was good, but sometimes what’s good gets in the way of what’s better — the land of Canaan, the future home to the Temple of the One True God.

“Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You. But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah” …“The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.”

Matthew 12:38-39, 42

Jesus is speaking to the crowds. While teaching from His Word, He heals a demon-possessed man of his many afflictions. The Pharisees are not happy. Like the rest of the crowd, they’ve been listening to Jesus preach. However, the teachers of the Law want a sign: a miracle on demand. Would they see with their eyes when they would not hear with their ears? What greater sign did they need than an exorcism? Jesus calls them out by mentioning the queen of the South.

The queen of the South? She heard. She heardall the way from Sheba. What the Pharisees would not hear from across the temple courtyard, she heard from across the continent. 1,200 miles. And she came to hear more. Imagine being mentioned in the Bible, not because you won a great battle or conquered a terrible foe, but because you heard.

I Kings 10:2 gives us little more information: She spoke to Solomon about all that was in her heart. That’s the difference between the Pharisees and the Queen of Sheba. She heard with her heart. The Pharisees, deafened by pride, could only hear with their ears. (To learn more about the connection between the heart and the ears, look up the following verses: Deuteronomy 29:4, Proverbs 23:12, Isaiah 6:10, and Ezekiel 3:10.)

God has an antidote for deaf ears. Acts 7:51: “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.” Ask God to circumcise your ears to hear His Word.

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord and open the ears of my heart.

In the Greek and Hebrew, to hear means not only to sense with the ears, but to understand, consider, comprehend, and OBEY.

Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel, and the man was very rich. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3 The name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. And she was a woman of good understanding and beautiful appearance; but the man was harsh and evil in his doings. He was of the house of Caleb.

1 Samuel 25:2-3

Once upon a time, in a land far away, lived a beautiful woman and her evil husband. Now, the husband was a fool, but Abigail understood.

The account of Nabal and Abigail rivals any fairy tale of long ago, complete with a beautiful woman, a wicked husband, a valiant king upon a steed and an intriguing plot.

To summarize, David and his men protect Nabal’s flocks from raiders and predators until the time of shearing. When payday arrives, instead of wages, David’s men receive insults. Justly so, David orders his men to saddle-up and ride for Nabal’s house. Enter our hero, actually a she-ro … Abigail.

She understood.

She understood whom? … she understood what?

She understood her husband’s harsh evil ways.

She understoodher God’s righteous holy ways.

Abigail learns of her husband’s foolish behavior from one of her servants. Without a moment to spare, she quickly orders a gift for David, loads the donkeys, and saves the day (and her husband’s neck). Why did Abigail chooses to act on behalf of her cruel harsh husband? She could have easily been rid of him that day … let him reap the consequences for his actions. Who would have blamed her? Instead, she acts on his behalf. Why? Because she understood.

Abigail understood …

… she must trust God’s Word over her own feelings.

… she must do the right thing no matter the cost.

… she must protect others from themselves.

… she must do right for those who do her wrong.

Because she understood, Abigail saves the lives of her husband and the male servants of her house. Her quick thinking also protects David’s reputation and his relationship with God. She does the right thing, the hard thing, the wise thing, and leaves her life (and husband) in the hands of God. And because she understood, God has a wonderful happily ever after for Abigail (and a not so happily ever after for Nabal). You can read the rest of the story in 1 Samuel 25.

And the beautiful woman received a message, “David sent us to you, to ask you to become his wife … and she followed the messengers of David, and became his wife.” So the beautiful woman and the king lived happily ever after.

2 … all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. 3 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, 4 they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” 6 This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.

7 So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” … 9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst … “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

She sinned.

She was caught in the very act. Given the nature of her sin, she did not sin alone, yet she stood alone before the crowd in the temple. Was her lover in the crowd? The scribes and Pharisees were using her as a sacrificial lamb to trap the Lamb of God. With rocks in hand, the Pharisees interrogate Jesus about the law. Ironic isn’t it … questioning The Word about the Word.

Why did scribes and Pharisees think Jesus would give another answer rather than stone her? Perhaps the fact He ate dinner with tax collectors and prostitutes got around town. At any rate, the Pharisees were willing to sacrifice the woman in order to get to Jesus. After all, she sinned.

Jesus’ answer is brilliant.

“Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”

Silence.

Memories. Regret.

A single stone hits the ground.

Rocks drop one by one. Fists unclench. A hailstorm of rocks fall to the dust.

Stones … stone tablets of commandments broken … the stone rolls away from the tomb … the Rock of Ages, the Stone which the builders rejected offers grace. The One who was without sin, the only One who could throw a rock, throws her a lifeline. She is left standing, boldly before the throne of grace. She sinned.

Her story starts with a man and ends with a Man; one a sinner, one a Savior. Grace comes and crushes her guilt, sin, and shame. And she is free. She sinnedno more.

Action Points:

Take your sin to Jesus. Tell Him what you have done and accept His grace. Tell Him now.

Talk to Jesus. Like the woman caught in adultery, leave your accusers to Jesus. Notice the only person the woman talked to was Jesus. She did not fight, argue, or defend herself to the crowds. What do you need to do to spend more time with Jesus?

Turn and sin no more. Whatever it takes … new friends … new job … new habits … sin no more. Change requires change. What will you change today to change your life?

41 Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. 42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. 43 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. 44 For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.

Mark 12:41-44

She gaveeverything.

Many would say the widow’s story is one of generosity. Undoubtedly, the nameless widow was generous. But I think more than generosity, the widow’s story is about faith; not faith in the church or faith in neighbors, but faith in the Savior. Her faith was big, so her gift was big. Even when giving something meant giving everything, she gave. Her bank account was small, but her faith beyond measure.